Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government has shown its appetite to work on comprehensive issues for the government. The Honourable Minister for the NWT Housing Corporation has just undertaken a very long and lengthy review of the Housing Corporation's policies and programs. The Minister for Public Engagement and Transparency is doing a very public process on Open Government Policy. Will the Minister responsible for Infrastructure commit to undertaking the exact same style of review for procurement policies without delay? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Well, the Minister consults with me; that is one person. I am wondering if he will consult with everyone in the Northwest Territories through a public engagement process, and then create a report that can come back to this House and be assessed by the standing committee and the government on its results and lead to comprehensive procurement reform in the Northwest Territories. Will the Minister commit to do that?
No, I will not commit to do a comprehensive review across the Northwest Territories. As I have told the Member before in this House, I have been part of both sides of this equation, and I believe that the process in place is a fair and equitable one for all businesses in the Northwest Territories. Yes, maybe we have to tweak a few things to make everything better. It does not matter if it is from health care to education to procurement, but I am willing to sit down and have those conversations. However at this point, I am not willing to do a territorial-wide review.
Does the Minister agree that a 15 month wait for a procurement application is unacceptable, and that that issue needs to be dealt with right away?
This is the first I've heard of this situation. I want to sit down with the Member after session today and get the details on it. I believe 15 months definitely is too long to hear back on an issue.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that commitment. I'll be happy to sit down with him and share my constituent's experience with our procurement system. Finally, I know that the Department of Procurement Services through the Department of Infrastructure is undertaking some vendor workshops. Is there any opportunity for public engagement in the procurement process through those workshops, or is this merely an effort to tell vendors how to do business with government? Are we actually listening to them or are we just telling them they're doing it wrong? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, that's not how this works. We're always open to all types of feedback, good or bad, and we'll try to improve the system as we move forward.
Masi. Oral Questions. Member for Nahendeh.
